Week 2 at Pittsburgh Steelers
No longer the top back in Denver, Phillip Lindsay missed the second half of last Monday night’s affair versus the Titans with a toe injury. Before departing he rushed seven times for 24 yards. Be sure to monitor the injury report, but Lindsay doesn’t have a good matchup anyway against a stout Pittsburgh run defense.
Week 1 – Phillip Lindsay vs. Tennessee Titans
Despite two 1,000-yard seasons to open his pro career, Phillip Lindsay will likely see a reduction in touches in ’20, due to Denver’s acquisition of Melvin Gordon. With Royce Freeman his main competition for playing time last year, Lindsay averaged 14 carries and should see around 12-15 touches per contest. With Jurrell Casey now with the Broncos, the Titans run defense should take a hit. However, with Lindsay again sharing the backfield, consider him a RB3/flex play on Monday night.
Fantasy Upside
After eclipsing 1,000 rushing yards in each of his first two seasons, Phillip Lindsay will be splitting time with Melvin Gordon in the Broncos backfield. Like Gordon, he has excellent hands, recording 35 catches in both of his professional years. Despite being a small RB, Lindsay’s only missed one game so far in his career and has found the end zone 17 times already. While sharing the backfield with Royce Freeman last season, he led the team with an average of 14 rushing attempts.
Fantasy Downside
Despite Lindsay being a local guy and fan favorite, the Broncos signed Melvin Gordon to a two-year deal, which will definitely put a dent in Lindsay’s playing time and workload. At just 5’8” and 190 pounds, he’s struggled in short-yardage situations and you had to figure the Denver brass knew he couldn’t continue to take a beating every week. Last season his yards per carry dropped by nearly a yard from his rookie campaign and only once in his career has he exceeded 20 carries in a contest.
Bottom Line
As long as they both remain healthy, expect to see Lindsay and Gordon share the backfield duties, with Gordon receiving slightly more of the touches. Gordon is the bigger back and it’s expected that more of the short-yardage carries will go to him as well. Lindsay’s fantasy value will dip this year, but he still has value. However, expect that not only will his yardage total likely decrease in ‘20, but so will his end-zone appearances.
Week 17 vs. Oakland Raiders
In the home win last week, Phillip Lindsay ran through the Detroit defense for 109 yards and his seventh TD of the season. It was the second time in ’19 he was over the century mark and his 19 rushes were the most he’s received since Week 3. Lindsay needs 42 yards on the ground in the finale to eclipse 1,000 for the second consecutive season. In the Week 1 loss at Oakland, he registered 66 yards on 15 touches and should be considered a QB2 on Sunday.
Week 16 vs. Detroit Lions
At Kansas City last week Denver’s offense had all kinds of trouble, as Phillip Lindsay finished with season lows of seven carries and 32 yards. With the team behind early, the Broncos had only 15 rushes versus 40 passes. Lindsay needs 151 yards on the ground in the final two games to eclipse 1,000 yards for the second straight year, but he’s averaging just 50 yards per outing over the past four. Against an average Lions run defense at home Lindsay makes for an RB2 play.
Week 15 at Kansas City Chiefs
In the win against the Texans last Sunday, Phillip Lindsay led the Broncos with 16 rushes for 51 yards and scored his sixth TD of the season. It was the first time he’d found pay dirt since early November and he continues to receive at least twice as many carries as Royce Freeman. In the Week 7 loss to the Chiefs, Lindsay was held to just 36 yards on 11 rushes, as the defense stuffed the line with Joe Flacco under center. Expect better numbers in the rematch with a more active QB in Drew Lock.
Week 14 at Houston Texans
With Drew Lock at QB last week, the Chargers forced the rookie to beat them by stuffing the line of scrimmage. As a result, Phillip Lindsay rushed for just 3.4 yards per attempt, his third-lowest rate of the season. In the past three weeks, he’s averaging 61 yards on the ground with no TDs. Look for the Texans defense to take a similar approach with Lock at QB which means Lindsay remains an RB2 play.
Week 13 vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Last week in Buffalo Phillip Lindsay led the Broncos with 13 rushes for 57 yards and caught an 11-yard pass. While he’s totaled at least 65 scrimmage yards the last four contests, he’s found pay dirt just once over the past five. The Chargers are only No. 20 versus the run and in the October win, Lindsay posted his lone 100-yard game of the season, with a score. He makes for an RB2 play in the rematch.
Week 12 at Buffalo Bills
Last week at Minnesota, Phillip Lindsay led the Broncos ground attack with 67 yards on 16 carries. It was the second-most attempts he’s had on the season and the yardage was near the 65 he’s averaged in ’19. Lindsay has only two receptions the past two contests and has just one TD in the past four. He’ll be going against an average Bills run defense that is great versus the pass. Consider Lindsay an RB2 play on the road.
Week 11 at Minnesota Vikings
In the win versus Cleveland two weeks ago, Phillip Lindsay rushed a season-low tying nine times, but made the most of those carries, finishing with 92 yards and his fifth score of ’19. The rushing yards were his second-most this year, but with Brandon Allen at QB, it was his first contest without a target in the passing game. Expect the Minnesota defense to force Allen to beat them on Sunday, which could lead to a tough day for the entire Denver offense.
